Borrowers appear less eager to switch loans following the Bank's promise of
low rates for longer.

Fears that mortgage rates could rise sooner than expected may be subsiding as remortgage activity fell almost 15pc in August.

Data released today by conveyancing firm LMS shows remortgage lending fell 14.8pc to £3.2bn in August, down from £3.8bn in July.

This followsprevious reports by Telegraph.co.ukof borrowers turning away from more cautious, fixed-rate loans and instead opting for variable rate deals. This trend appeared to follow the Bank of England's "forward guidance", in which it indicated the Bank Rate would remain low until approximately 2016.

Prior to the publication of "forward guidance", borrowers were being urged to lock in the current ultra-low mortgage rates immediately amid fears that sharp rate rises in the capital markets could force lenders to increase their mortgage costs.

LMS says the total number of remortgage loans in August fell by almost 20pc to 21,682, compared with 27,000 in July. This figure is also down almost 5pc on the 22,700 remortgage loans taken out in August last year.

The British Bankers’ Association's high street banking statistics, also published today, show the big six banks lent £6bn in August for house purchases, compared to £5.8bn in July.

Its remortgage figures differ from LMS's, showing high street banks advanced £3.4bn for remortgages in August, up slightly from £3.2bn in July. The difference is mainly due to the fact the BBA only looks at data from Santander, HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and Virgin Money.

Research company Capital Economics said while the number of mortgages approved by banks increased again in August, the momentum in mortgage lending growth appears to be fading, and there is "scant evidence that a renewed secured credit boom is about to take-off".

It showed that borrowers currently on their lender's standard variable rate (SVR) – the "revert to" rate that applies when any fixed or discounted deal ends – stand to save tens of thousands of pounds over the next two years by remortgaging.

Despite the fall in remortgaging, today's data from LMS shows the average remortgage loan amount has risen by 2.4pc over the past month and now stands at £149,367. This figure is also more than 10pc higher than this time last year.

This could be because borrowers are increasing the overall size of their loan when remortgaging. LMS said borrowers are each taking out an average of £20,070 in extra equity above the value of the loan. Rising house prices could be giving borrowers the confidence to do this, as the equity in their homes grows.

He said: “It would appear that the entire market has reached a plateau in August, with the Council of Mortgage Lenders reporting that gross mortgage lending has held steady at £16.6bn. The remortgage market’s contraction means that remortgages only represented a fifth of the market in August, but we will no doubt see further reshuffles in the months to come.”